Top 5 learnings for India from the New Zealand Test series

India came into the series as outright favorites, but the Kiwis were no pushovers with their bowling unit, in particular, posing a semblance of threat. However, the hosts dominated the proceedings to prevail over New Zealand in a comprehensive manner.

The 3-0 whitewash also propelled Virat Kohli’s team to the number one spot in the ICC Test rankings.

While their spin bowlers made full use of the conditions to weave webs around the New Zealand batting lineup, the home side’s batsmen also managed to tackle the tricky surfaces to register weighty totals almost every time. With England and Australia set to visit their shores for 5 and 4 Tests respectively in the coming months, the comprehensive series victory against New Zealand presented them with numerous gains which could help continue their momentum for the upcoming contests as well.

Let us go through five of the most significant takeaways for the Indian Test team.

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#5 Lower order keeps strengthening their batting depth

Jadeja‘s handy cameos have been vital to the team’s cause

Playing on spin-friendly surfaces has helped the Indian bowlers immensely, but they have had to make a trade-off with their batsmen who had got accustomed to carving out ‘daddy hundreds’. As a result, the lower-order was required to bail them out on a regular basis, if the South Africa series at home and the West Indies tour were any indication.

In this series as well, the likes of Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja and to a lesser extent Ravichandran Ashwin (his 40 in the opening Test had helped India cross the 300-mark in the first innings), dented New Zealand’s hopes by converting tantalisingly poised situations in their favour.

With England also containing considerable batting depth, they would want the lower order to keep coming to the party.

#4 Seamers can be more than an afterthought

Bhuvneshwar’s spell at Eden Gardens proved to be a game-changing one

One of the dilemma-inducing effects of rolling out turning tracks has been the inability of the seamers to become acclimatised to delivering accurate and longer spells which could be a necessity during trips outside the subcontinent.

However, the Indian seam attack, comprising of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and more importantly Bhuvneshwar Kumar, showed signs of contributing substantially to dismissing opposition batting lineups. Bhuvneshwar’s remarkable effort of 5-48 in the second Test at Eden Gardens should give a lot of heart to the team management regarding their all-round potency.

#3 Strike rate is over rated in Tests

Pujara was India’s most consistent batsman in the series

There had been inexplicable murmurs regarding Cheteshwar Pujara’s alleged inability to score at a pace, which was deemed adequate by the ‘aggressive’ think tank. He was even dropped during the West Indies tour despite his invaluable asset of negotiating an extensive amount of deliveries without any fuss, at the most important batting position in the game’s traditional format.

But, the soft-spoken Saurashtra batsman rendered those points irrelevant by ending the series as the leading run-scorer in the series with 373 runs as well as four fifty-plus scores.

With Murali Vijay’s opening partner going through the roulette, he often had to come in at the fall of an early wicket. Yet, Pujara’s calmness and appetite for runs should ram home the point that strike-rate often does not matter in Tests.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin’s legacy

Ashwin seems to be at the peak of his prowess

At the end of the series, Ravichandran Ashwin’s Test record reads – 220 wickets from 39 matches at an average of 24.29 and strike-rate of 49.4. In fact, no spinner has ever taken 200 Test wickets at an average under 25 and strike-rate below 50.

Despite question marks surrounding his skills outside Asia and West Indies, Ashwin’s menace on conducive subcontinental pitches is deadly.

Though naysayers would inevitably point out to the role of tailor-made turning pitches in India as the primary reason behind his gargantuan rise, the Tamil Nadu off-spinner has no reason to downplay his achievements when plenty of visiting spin bowlers have got opportunities to play on these pitches, and almost every modern-day player being extremely dominant at home.

Ashwin is on a hot streak of winning the Player of the Series award for seven of the eight series that India has won since his debut, and skipper Kohli will want him to extend his form against England and Australia as well.

#1 Kanpur pitch provides the template

The Kanpur surface provided an ideal balance between bat and ball (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

When any Test series in India gets underway, the focus becomes inevitably sharpened towards the nature of pitches on offer. Undeniably, the surfaces against South Africa last year went too far in supporting the Indians’ cause and deservedly attracted scrutiny across the cricket world.

With their primary strength being spin, providing reasonable conditions to the opposition without minimising the home advantage becomes a necessity.

However, the pitches throughout this series were optimal in terms of providing a balance between bat and ball, with the Kanpur curators meriting additional praise for presenting an ideal surface for both batsmen as well as spinners.

With the second Test at Eden Gardens also assisting the seam bowlers, India’s dominance over the Kiwis successfully endured the test of conditions. The ground-staff for the venues participating in the England series would do well to take a leaf out of those involved in this series.